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Unit 2: Cultural Aspect of International Assignments

3. Rigid Time vs. Fluid Time: In rigid-time societies, punctuality is critical, schedules are set Notes
in concrete, agendas fixed and business meetings are rarely interrupted. These societies
are monochronic for their clock-obsessed, schedule-worshipping cultures.
While in polychronic cultures, where people place less emphasis on punctuality and are
not observed with deadlines. Polychronic cultures do not value scheduling of business
meetings. In fact several meetings-within-meetings may be taking place simultaneously.
Orientation to time varies not only among different countries but often within a given
country as well.

Example: In Brazil, temperate Sao Paulo is relatively monochronic whereas Rio de
Janeiro is strongly polychronic. Suppose you are an export marketer scheduled to meet your
German customer at 9 a.m. the next morning. It is expected that you reach his office at 8:55 a.m.
If the same meeting is in Rome, your local counterpart is likely to wait for half an hour after
agreed time and greet you as though nothing at all is wrong. And if the meeting is in Sicily
(polychronic culture), if your Sicilian counterpart shows up on the day of the meeting, he is
considered punctual.

4. Expressive vs. Reserved Cultures: There are three types of interpersonal communications:
(a) Verbal communication has to do with words and the meaning of words.
(b) Para-verbal language refers to how loudly we speak those words, the meaning of
silence and the significance of conversational overlap.
(c) Non-verbal communication/body language is communicating without using any
words.

Expressive people tend to be uncomfortable with more than a second or two of silence
during a conversation. People from reserved cultures feel at ease with much longer silences.

Example: Japanese negotiators sit without speaking for what seems like eternity to
voluble Mexicans, Greeks, or Americans.
Conversational overlap refers to the interruption of a speaker by another. While expressive
people regard overlap as a normal part of conversation, people from reserved cultures
consider overlap extremely rude.

Example: Spanish negotiators interrupt Swedes about five times as often as Swedes
interrupt Spaniards. This will cause problems in negotiations unless parties are aware of this
cultural trait. Japanese not only take turns to avoid overlap, but also often pause a few seconds
before speaking.
Climate and culture both play a role in sartorial behaviour. In the tropics and in desert
countries, businessmen often wear open-necked shirts and cotton trousers. But even in
these countries it is advisable to wear a suit or a blazer for the first meeting. For meetings
with government officials this formality takes on greater importance. In most other parts
of the world, men should wear a dark suit, conservative tie, white shirt and dark socks.

Example: Visit to Latin Europe and Latin America requires special attention to the style
and quality of both men’s and women’s clothes and accessories. In the Middle East, business
contacts often judge one by the quality and price of his briefcase, watch, and jewellery. One
should wear and carry the best one has. Throughout Asia it is a good idea to wear slip-on shoes

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